In preparing the way for the unparalleled surge of Islamic revival in Iran, many factors have been at work. One of the most important is the legacy of Dr. Ali Shari'ati (1933-1977). A teacher, scholar and writer, Shari'ati and a dynamic influence on the young people of Iran with his classes, discussions, free lectures and articles during the 1960's and 1970's. The book does not pretend to offer a complete scheme of Islamic sociology, nor did Shari'ati himself claim to have developed a complete scheme. With his original and courageous mind, he did, however, put forward a number of totally fresh concepts relating to the sociology of Islam, and it is these we have sought to present in English translation as a stimulus to thought among Muslims. The book contains a number of topics that are not, strictly speaking, sociological, but even they are treated in a sociological tone, so that the title of the book, on the Sociology of Islam, appears justified.
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